Abstract
Interpersonal trust decisions are guided by reputation. However, it
remains unclear how positive and negative prior reputations that are
inconsistent with a partner’s behavior are integrated at the behavioral
and neural levels and how this informs daily trust decisions. In this
two-part study, 54 subjects first played an iterated 20-trial Trust Game
with four anonymous partners introduced as “cooperative” or
“individualistic” while EEG was recorded. The partners’ behavior then
either confirmed or contradicted this prior reputation. Subsequently,
the subjects completed a three-day ecological assessment measuring trust
in daily interactions. According to the results, negative prior
reputations were associated with less trust decisions, even after being
contradicted by cooperative behavior. The frequency of trust decisions
remained high if positive prior reputations were confirmed, and
decreased if they were contradicted. Trial-by-trial analyses showed that
negative priors were still related to a lower trust choice probability,
even if they were contradicted in the previous trial, paralleled by a
decrease in fronto-lateral theta. Mean trust levels across laboratory
conditions were descriptively associated with mean trust levels in daily
interactions. In sum, these findings indicate that a person with a
negative prior reputation is less trusted, even if this person behaves
in a positive way.